ACOG's Midwifery Year in Review

Recently I read ACOG's report regarding the 2007 midwifery year in review. A favorite paragraph for me as a Missouri resident who has been working on legislation in this state for the past three years is: "For example, in Missouri, 'lay' midwife bills get introduced year after year. These bills have been stopped -- up to now -- mainly by deft political maneuvering and hardball tactics employed by the State Medical Society, not by any persuasive testimony about comparative safety or quality of care."

The tone of the report seems to be that this issue is all about politics and not about any real issue of safety/concerns. Given the experiences of the tireless advocates at the Capitol, the admission of using "hardball" tactics is interesting, because that's certainly how it FELT, but it was denied by opponents of the legislation.

The year in review discussion does not discuss evidence or anything about real outcomes -- it discusses turf and beliefs and also about how the legislative efforts across the country
“complicates” ACOG's work.